Lethbridge man found guilty of sex-related counts against girls

The verdict, as read out by the jury, is as follows:

Count 1 – Sexual assault on the 14-year-old – guilty
Count 2 – Sexual assault on the 14-year-old – guilty
Count 3 – Sexual exploitation on the 14-year-old – not guilty
- Instead found guilty of the lesser charge of sexual interference
Count 4 – Sexual exploitation on the 14-year-old – not guilty
- Instead found guilty of the lesser charge of sexual interference
Count 5 – Sexual assault on the 12-year-old – not guilty
- Instead found guilty of the lesser charge of common assault
Count 6 – Sexual exploitation on the 12-year-old – not guilty

Following the verdict, a pre-sentencing report has been ordered. It is expected that a date for sentencing will be set next month.

After the jury left, the judge informed the man that he is still bound by a previously-imposed condition to have no contact with persons under the age of 16 without a court-approved supervisor.

Since the man will be released until sentencing can take place, he told the judge that he will not violate any of his conditions.

“You won’t. You’ll be in jail,” the judge sternly replied.

The jury’s decision follows two days of testimonies and cross-examinations. More details in the links below:

Prior to the decision, closing arguments were made Wednesday by the crown and defense.

Closing arguments – the defense

The defense kicked off proceedings, arguing that the girls were not credible witnesses, and due to guilty convictions requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt, that his client should be found not guilty.

He said this is a trial based on credibility and that his client should have been believed as a credible witness.

The man was candid with all details and walked the “path of how an innocent person defends himself.”

The defense told the jury that his client did not inappropriately touch the 12-year-old’s breasts. Instead, he was applying aloe vera lotion to her chest, back, and shoulders because their mother had severe arthritis in her hands and was unable to do it.

There were two offences involving the 14-year-old girl – one involving the man cuddling with her and touching her bare breasts and one where he touched her genital area while she, the man, and the mother were playing cards in the garage.

It was stated by the defense that the girls had many inconsistencies in their statements in court and in contrast to what they had told police.

Some examples involving the 12-year-old include whether she pushed or kicked the man away, whether or not she told her mother that day about him touching her breasts – the mother said she was only informed of the girl feeling uncomfortable that her bra strap was moved – and whether she had her cell phone on her when she spoke to her mother.

The defense also brought up confusion over whether the 14-year-old was wearing leggings or shorts in the garage.

There was one part of the defense’s closing arguments that the judge took particular exception with.

As read back by the court reporter, the following statement was made by the defense counsel to the jury.

“I’m going to ask you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, in your deliberations in that jury room, when you are considering all of the evidence, I am going to ask you to be the defense voice in the jury room. When you discuss the evidence in the jury room, please ask yourselves and each other, what would defense counsel say about that?”

After both sides had made their case, the judge spoke to the lawyers, saying that, in all of his years practicing law, he had never heard a lawyer say anything like that to a jury.

“I’m very troubled by what you said.”

The judge continued to state that it was an “odd” thing to say to a jury and was “inappropriate.”

Upon making his instructions to the jury, the judge was clear to remind the 12 members that they are not the voices of the defense or the crown, that they are judges in this case and must remain impartial.

Closing arguments – the crown

The crown made very different characterizations of the people involved in this trial.

He believed that the girls were credible witnesses who went through a series of traumatic events, and the only reason they could not recall some of the aforementioned details is because they are “mundane,” and that no one would remember where they left their cell phone in a particular moment more than two years later.

The crown was of the belief that the man and the girls’ mother had been colluding the whole time and that the mother would have done anything to protect her relationship with her boyfriend. Therefore, it was argued that the mother was not a credible witness.

She was made aware of the fact that the man has a court order prohibiting him from having any contact with people under the age of 16 without a court-appointed supervisor being present.

Yet, she entered into a relationship with him, believing that it was ok because she and her children liked him.

The argument was made that a mother should be vigilant of what their children are up to, especially when their partner has a criminal record. The crown said this is even more so the case because the 14-year-old did not want to tell her mother right away about what had happened given her reaction to the mother’s reportedly-negative reaction to the 12-year-old coming forward to her.

In the incident involving the 12-year-old, the man was alone with her. This was also the case in the first incident involving the 14-year-old.

For the second incident involving the 14-year-old, the mother was present in the garage but was said to have been distracted by games on her phone.

The crown asserted that the mother, in her testimony, only went by the information she had been given by the accused himself.

The crown was also of the belief that the accused was enabled into his actions because he was likely to not be contested by his partner.

The jury was asked by the crown to find the man guilty on all counts.

Note: Previous articles on this trial had a different list of charges for the accused.

by David Opinko

Lethbridge man found guilty of sex-related counts against girls

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